In November, I visited Southern Utah which includes some of the most undeveloped land in the Lower 48.  In fact, there is one section in Southern Utah known as the Henry Mountains that were the last mountain range to be mapped in the 48 contiguous U.S. states.  The southern half of Utah has 5 national parks, but I only visited Zion National Park on this trip.  Zion has become one of the top 10 most visited national parks and contains one of the best hikes I have ever been on, known as the Zion Narrows.  Here, the Virgin River has carved its way through large sandstone walls.  

For this trip, I rented dry pants, canyoneering shoes, and neoprene socks for the numerous water crossings.  These, as well as a hiking stick, are very useful...if not essential. The water is quite cold and the rocks on the bottom of the river can be slick.  National Geographic Magazine rated it #5 in the Best American Adventures.  

I'm not sure how well these pictures do the grand landscape justice but I also had fun taking pictures of the more intimate scenes such as abstracts in the Virgin River.

On the way out of Zion, I did a short hike to the Canyon Overlook.  Here is the panorama that I made of the alpenglow just before sunrise.  

Now it was on to the town of Escalante, Utah, where there is the vast expanse of land known as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  There are many scenic and hidden out of the way places and it is known as having some of the best slot canyons in the world.  Two places just off the 62 mile long gravel road called "Hole In The Rock Road" are Zebra Canyon and Spooky Canyon. They are very scenic, but also very narrow.  They are definitely not places for those who are claustrophobic. Getting through these narrow canyon with a pack of camera gear can be a challenge!

Zebra Canyon     Spooky Canyon

This area is making news now.  Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was created in 1996 with nearly 1.9 million acres set to be protected.  However, an announcement is expected Monday that this area of protection will soon be reduced to 997,490 acres.  You can read more about that here. 

A cloudless sky in the middle of the day is the best time to visit these slot canyons.  When the sun is high, the light can enter the canyon and tends to bounce around and create these glows on the walls. Sometimes in the middle of the day, you can see shafts of light that enter the canyon.  Throwing dust up in the air can illuminate these light beams.  

These two pictures above were taken in Buckskin Gulch along the Utah-Arizona border.  It is home to the longest slot canyon in the world, where the canyon is narrow for 12 miles!  One last place to see...Kanarra Creek. The slot canyon is not nearly as long but what makes this one unique is the waterfall that flows through it.  

Kannaraville Falls   

Above is a sunrise taken from Highway 12 between Escalante and Boulder, Utah.  My next blog post will be from Valley Of Fire State Park in Nevada.